Desert Archaeology
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desertarch.bsky.social
Desert Archaeology
@desertarch.bsky.social
The leading CRM archaeology outfit in the US Southwest. Section 106 compliance, innovative research, and public outreach since 1982. Native plant and wildlife refuge at the end of Tucson Boulevard. Industry happy hours. We do it all.
Pinned
Welcome new followers and refugees from the other place! You can learn about what we do at desert.com. Be sure to click on the Field & Lab Journal tab to read bite-sized stories about our work in the greater US Southwest, from the oldest field system in N. America to 19th-C intrigue.
Desert Archaeology, Inc. | Full-service Cultural Resources Management – Leading the way in Southwestern cultural resources management since 1982BlueskyEmailFacebookInstagram
desert.com
Historical archaeologist Homer Thiel will be talking about his new book, Saloons of Tucson, at the Whiskey Del Bac distillery on October 21. Homer is THE go-to guy for stories of historic Tucson, and this will be a treat. Details at the link.

whiskeydelbac.com/event/octobe...
October 21st – Saloons of Tucson – Book Discussion w/ author Homer Thiel – Whiskey Del Bac
whiskeydelbac.com
September 22, 2025 at 8:50 PM
The 250th anniversary of Hugo O'Conor saying build it HERE is coming up this week. Pls enjoy this excellent story about the 1775 founding of the Tucson Presidio and everything Desert's work has added to its history, featuring our own Homer Thiel.
Tucson at 250: Presidio past lurks just under surface for those willing to dig for it
The founding of the Tucson Presidio on Aug. 20, 1775, is widely heralded as the start of what has become Arizona's second largest city. But the journey wasn't an easy
tucson.com
August 17, 2025 at 3:37 PM
One like = 10,000 pieces of debitage
July 29, 2025 at 4:18 AM
What
July 19, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Desert Archaeology bioarchaeologist Rachael Byrd and lithic analyst RJ Sliva contributed to a new American Antiquity paper on how early agriculturalist groups moved around in what is now the borderlands region of the Sonoran Desert. Fascinating (really)! Free access here: doi.org/10.1017/aaq....
Small-Scale Migrations among Early Farmers in the Sonoran Desert | American Antiquity | Cambridge Core
Small-Scale Migrations among Early Farmers in the Sonoran Desert
doi.org
June 3, 2025 at 5:43 PM
NYT crossword is broken this morning, “backhoe” has way more than three letters
June 2, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Do you love going to the Mercado San Agustin like we do? Yes! Have you ever wondered why the very handsome Monier Building is named that? Probably! Come to a celebration this Fri (5/23) to eat, drink, and hear Homer Thiel talk about the people who made the bricks that built modern Tucson!
Honoring Quintus Monier and The Tucson Brick Company Brick-makers – Mercado District
Join us to honor Quintus Monier and The Tucson Brick Company brick-makers who made the bricks that built this city! Friday, May 23rd at 6pm Monier Courtyard, 160 S. Avenida del Convento Remarks b
mercadodistrict.com
May 19, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Who knew the xkcd guy was a lithic analyst
Unstoppable Force and Immovable Object xkcd.com/3084
May 12, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Justin, Connie, and Lindsay repped us at the SRPMIC Earth Day fest over the weekend with shell-etching demos and a build-a-pithouse set Connie fabricated. Great fun for everyone!
April 14, 2025 at 11:53 PM
We're looking for a records specialist to assist the Gila River Indian Community in Sacaton, AZ. You don't have to be an archaeologist for this position, just an organized records keeper who can put up with archaeologists 20-40 hrs/wk. See desert.com/open-positions for the listing.
Open Positions – Desert Archaeology, Inc. | Full-service Cultural Resources Management
desert.com
April 14, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Your regular reminder that we really like old things around here. And dirt. And waiting for some electrolyte product to hit us up with a major sponsorship
April 11, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Don’t miss the chance to hang out with fellow scruffy Southwestern archaeologists this Friday as we celebrate an unexpected extension of Tucson Patio Weather™️
April 2, 2025 at 6:22 PM
What is the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson, you ask? Sit back and get ready to open nine million tabs for all the fascinating things we have learned about life in 18th + 19th c Spanish, Mexican, and Territorial Tucson. Homer Thiel tells you all the stories here.
Search Results for “Presidio” – Desert Archaeology, Inc. | Full-service Cultural Resources ManagementBlueskyEmail
desert.com
March 18, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Our friends at the Presidio San Agustín have partnered with Barrio Brewing to bring Tucson this 250th birthday present!
Presidio San Agustín Museum on Instagram: "Barrio Brewing Company, Arizona’s oldest brewery, today announced an historic collaboration with the Presidio San Agustin Del Tucson Museum to craft a limite...
2 likes, 0 comments - tucsonpresidiomuseum on March 17, 2025: "Barrio Brewing Company, Arizona’s oldest brewery, today announced an historic collaboration with the Presidio San Agustin Del Tucson Muse...
www.instagram.com
March 18, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Anybody want to hang out and be happy for two hours? Yowl archaeologically, or sit and watch the trains go by, we can facilitate either one. April 4 at Borderlands in downtown Tucson. 👷➡️😀
March 13, 2025 at 7:29 PM
If not lithic analysis, why lithic analysis shaped
March 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Looking for part-time or seasonal cultural resources management work in Arizona? Check desert.com/open-positio... for listings and come work with the best port in any storm.
Open Positions – Desert Archaeology, Inc. | Full-service Cultural Resources Management
desert.com
March 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Roses are red
We all do our part
The social media intern
Offers you this art
February 14, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Trying to find an archaeology angle here and failing, other than science is: fun

(look at figure [d])
In 2014 Dutch scientists left a hamster wheel outside, to see if wild animals would use it like their domesticated counterparts.

The answer: hell yes! 734 visits from wild mice - plus rats, shrews, slugs ("running" being subjective here) & even frogs and snails.

The apparent reason: fun. Just fun.
January 28, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Waiting patiently for @pattmeeples.bsky.social to invite us over to play because helloooooooooooooo
I shared these with my class today so I thought I'd share them on Bluesky too. Here is my Southwest archaeology Lego (knock off) collection. Montezuma's Castle, Casa Grande (Sivan Va'aki), Tumacacori Mission, and Cliff Palace. If you know of other sets available, let me know.
January 22, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Not obsidian, but super neat. Not a thing we encounter in Arizona.
Seen this morning just outside the HPPA offices: Pele's hair!
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is seeing an increase in Pele's hair falling around the Kīlauea summit and nearby communities. These fine strands of volcanic glass are formed during eruptions and can cause skin and eye irritation.
January 18, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate John Douglass. We’re freshly resolved to live our lives such that when we go, 50-odd people come stand in the cold to tell stories and raise a glass in love one last time. See you next time around, friends.
January 18, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Please join us and Statistical Research Inc this evening at MotoSonora Brewing as we remember John Douglass. We have a corner of the beer garden reserved (with heaters!) and would love for you to come help us celebrate the memory of our friend and colleague. 1015 S. Park, Tucson, 5-7 pm
January 17, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Here’s a fun thing for next week: Jim Watson will talk about the earliest farmers in the Tucson Basin, which our work has helped bring to light. Our corner of the desert has been kicking it for 4,000 years, Jim’s a great scientist AND a great presenter, go listen!

whiskeydelbac.com/event/8843/
Armchair Anthropology – Dr. James T. Watson. – Whiskey Del Bac
whiskeydelbac.com
January 14, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Thread re: NPS lifting filming restrictions in parks, with a mini-thread on how Navajo mgmt in Canyon de Chelly might help.
As someone who used to work for NPS, & was also on my park’s committee to review filming permit applications, this is a bad move by the Biden Administration. 1/3 youtu.be/k4eZouItmO0?...
HUGE NEWS Filming in National Parks is ALLOWED for YouTubers
YouTube video by Jeven Dovey
youtu.be
January 8, 2025 at 2:38 PM